POR-15 Tank Cleaning

After a hiatus for the past few weeks, I finally had a whole weekend blocked out where I would be able to get some stuff done to the bike. The big process to take is the tank cleaning/etching/coating. Since the tank was a little rusty inside, I had purchased the POR-15 motorcycle tank renewal kit. In the kit comes a marine clean solution, an slightly acidic etching solution, and the famous POR-15 coating kit (along with fibrous patching in case there are pin holes).

POR-15 kit

The first thing I did was remove the tank, the fuel sensor unit, gas cap, and emblems. Now that the tank was naked I had no reservations with taking a garden hose to the thing and cleaning the gunk out from the inside. Not too much "gunk" came out, more like flakes of rust.

My tank drain site.

Next I sealed the fuel filler with a 1.5 inch expansion test stopper. The fuel sending hole was too small for the test stopper, so I slipped a few latex gloves over a foam cone and duct taped it in there. I took a small cork, covered it in a latex glove and duct taped that inside of the fuel exit.

My makeshift plugs

Now I poured hot water into the tank with the marine clean in roughly a 5:1 ratio. POR-15 suggests 5:1 as a best ratio for most applications. I found this suitable since the tank is quite large, this ratio would cover at least 1/3 of the tank at a time.

Tank on its side

I heard some popping and fizzing in the tank when I checked it 30 minutes later. I feared that the solution had eaten through the latex and was now making a mess of styrofoam in my tank. I opened the test plug to peer inside...

Inside the tank

The tank still looks rusty, but I am not surprised, this process was mainly to remove varnish and gunk fuel, which I believe mine was not plagued excessively. Before I go to bed I will drain and rinse tank and let it sit over night to dry. I have to work in the morning, but when I get back I will begin etching.

And of course, I am always being safe wearing my PPE. I learned something in Chem Lab.

PPE!